Historical Suit

Year1991-2019
MaterialTompkins Square Crawl suit, peanut butter, wood, MDF, fabric, insulation foam, screws, hanger, snap buttons
Dimensions82.6 x 179.1 x 26.7 cm
Year of acquisition2023
Inventory numberUAB 1321
On viewGround floor
Copyright© Pope.L,  Courtesy of the artist and Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York

More about the artwork

The original pinstriped suit worn by Pope.L in his 1991 performance “Tompkins Square Crawl” is displayed here in an open shipping crate. The “Historical Suit” (1991–2019) is smeared with peanut butter, a substance the artist calls “brown goo,” which he often uses in his works along with the “white goo” of mayonnaise. This play with color and unconventional material not only attests to Pope.L’s disarming as well as humorous exploration of the relationship between consumerism and racism. As in his performances, here he overtly addresses the complex and ambivalent representation of Black identity in a white-dominated American culture.